I can't afford to buy the right food...

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Replies

  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
    I think the problem is I live in a little village and rely on public transport :/ ive done the steamed veg and stuff and I love fruit and pasta :) I think the answer to my problems is to bulk by the beans and pasta stuff then I can keep it for weeks at a time

    Don't you have to take the same public transport to get frozen pizza and cheap fish fingers? I don't get it.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    edited February 2015
    I just logged the most delicious beans (black turtle beans) and rice for breakfast.

    I grow my own beans every summer and store a 5 gallon bucket for use all year - free but even if you bought 'em they'd be about 18 cents a serving.

    I buy my rice from Sam's club. A 50 pound bag is about 20 bucks and lasts for a hundred meals (or more)

    I'd call it about 35 cents a serving for a totally delicious, nutritionally and calorie dense meal. I try to make 6 or 8 meals a week of beans and rice.

    The internet is full of recipes for you. An hour with Google will net you a lifetime of tastes and flavors. You could have beans and rice every day for a year and never eat the same dish twice.

  • kungabungadin
    kungabungadin Posts: 290 Member
    laddyboy wrote: »
    I saved thousand of $$$ by eating healthy. I no longer have to buy sleep apnea supplies or medications. With that being said you can save loads of money using coupons. Buy the Sunday Paper with all those ads and clip those coupons. You can do it.

    I agree with this guy even if the coupons are for other things you will save. That is one way also look for veggie and fruit markets that sell at discounted prices, frozen is cheaper than fresh and when it's the time of year for gardens grow your own. I have spent $20 or less at veggie/fruit market and went home with a 3lb bag of apples, a couple of pounds of grapes and pairs, a 5lb bag of golden potatos, red and yellow peppers, green onion, cucumbers, a 3lb bag of oranges and more. So shop around and save money in other areas of life and spend that on your health. Try also making your own soup that is rather cheap. Good luck.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    I just logged the most delicious beans (black turtle beans) and rice for breakfast.

    I grow my own beans every summer and store a 5 gallon bucket for use all year - free but even if you bought 'em they'd be about 18 cents a serving.

    I buy my rice from Sam's club. A 50 pound bag is about 20 bucks when on sale and lasts for a hundred meals (or more)

    I'd call it about 35 cents a serving for a totally delicious, nutritionally and calorie dense meal. I try to make 6 or 8 meals a week of beans and rice.

    The internet is full of recipes for you. An hour with Google will net you a lifetime of tastes and flavors. You could have beans and rice every day for a year and never eat the same dish twice.

    That's awesome. I don't have nearly enough land to grow beans in quantity. Fortunately the grocery store has them cheap enough. We did grow some pintos and some black beans (sprouted from the grocery store beans) but that was just a project for the kids. I think we got maybe 50 beans in our 'harvest' :p
  • Zomoniac
    Zomoniac Posts: 1,169 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    Rice, beans, tuna, frozen vegetables, and sales make eating well not as expensive as many people think.

    Tuna? Wish I lived where you did! It's £1.50 (about US$2.50) for a small can here.
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
    I think the problem is I live in a little village and rely on public transport :/ ive done the steamed veg and stuff and I love fruit and pasta :) I think the answer to my problems is to bulk by the beans and pasta stuff then I can keep it for weeks at a time

    When properly stored, they'll last *years* with no loss of nutrition or taste. White rice is supposed to last decades. I'm finishing up a 50 pound bag that was bought almost 2 years ago and it's fine.

    Buy 'em once - one trip - and store for the next year or more of regular use.

  • jackie26us
    jackie26us Posts: 22 Member
    We live on a tight budget with me out of work. We get food from a food bank too Now I was spending like $50 a week on junk food as treats mind you but we didn't "have money" for food. The main thing I did was cut out the junk food and use that $50 I spent on junk food for buying healthy food. Now I also plan meals and work around that. I shop the sales buying beans, lots of veggies etc. I make sure my foods are nutrient dense. So we don't even see us missing money since it was money I used to buy "treats." Let me also say I never realized I was spending that much on junk food. One day I just added it all up and was shocked. It was definitely an eye opener.
  • As mentioned by others you can make homemade soups. If you roast a chicken or even chicken parts, take all the meat off the bones before serving. Break the bones and put them in a large pot of water with 6 - quarts (5.5 litres) of water add washed and unpeeled - 2 carrots, 2 sticks of celery and one onion. Bring to a boil then let simmer for about an hour and a half until reduced. Drain the liquid and you have just made you own stock which is healthy and cheap and adds great flavor. You can use this to make your soups. Can be kept I the frig for about 10 days or frozen.
    Chop several carrots, several sticks of celery, one onion, any type of vegetable to have fresh and some lentils or dried beans and sauté in a pot with just a little oil, and some spices or seasonings. Add your liquid (homemade stock, can tomatoes, water etc) and bring to slow boil to cook your beans and lentils. You can also add any frozen vegetables you like, pasta, rice, and any other type of meat proteins at the end. You can put almost anything in the soup, whatever your tastes are. Makes a hearty healthy soup that is cheap to make and has none of the added sodium you often find in can soups. You can also freeze this soup so if you get vegetables at a good price you can make a lot for use we cant readily get fresh vegetables.
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    Liftng4Lis wrote: »
    Try to buy meat in bulk (you can get freezer bags at the dollar store). Frozen or canned veggies and lots of rice and beans. This actually turns out less expensive then buying that pizza or fish sticks.
    For rice ideals: try adding some light coconut milk, chicken and veggies.

    This is what I was going to suggest. The frozen section can be a great aisle to buy stuff in bulk and make it last. That's where we buy our chicken, shrimp, fish, and vegetables.
  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    rybo wrote: »
    Rice, beans, tuna, frozen vegetables, and sales make eating well not as expensive as many people think.

    I agree with most of that, except tuna is damn expensive in England!

    Stew is quite cheap to make, just some chicken or beef of whatever and lots and lots of veg, and some stock. Also things like shepherds pie, lasagne etc as you can pad them out with lots of veggies and make them last longer.
  • thecraftinista
    thecraftinista Posts: 66 Member
    budgetbytes.com
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    I'm in a financial crisis at the moment. I have two children and a partner and it's easier for me to grab a cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers.....
    It's not good for me but I just can't afford to buy more. Could I have my portions and work out more?


    you said it yourself... it's easier for you to buy a cheap pizza, and not put thought and energy into a healthy meal.

    http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/06/buffalo-chicken-pizza/

    this is a recipe for buffalo chicken pizza. i like this blog because she lays out how much the whole thing costs as well. and inputting it into the MFP recipe builder is a snap as well.

    it comes out to two slices a person, and that is 534 calories each, a Total Cost of $5.04, and Cost Per Serving: $1.26
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I'm in a financial crisis at the moment. I have two children and a partner and it's easier for me to grab a cheap pizza or frozen fish fingers.....
    It's not good for me but I just can't afford to buy more. Could I have my portions and work out more?

    Yes. But where in the world is frozen pizza and fish cheaper than frozen vegetables, dried beans, pasta, eggs and rice?
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    budgetbytes.com

    Great website.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    I do like rice but I never know what to put it with

    Add a little fat and seasoning, a bag of frozen vegetables and cooked dried beans and you have a healthy cheap one dish meal.
  • JEE2015
    JEE2015 Posts: 146 Member
    Not sure if these stores are near you but I check out 99cent store and Sprouts first. Very affordable fresh produce. Even try Smart & Final, they're good on meat prices & frozen vegis too.
  • techreyes
    techreyes Posts: 25 Member
    Even if you have to buy the cheaper, unhealthier stuff, you should still be able to stick to your calories. I have the opposite problem - I stuck to my calorie goal at uni by eating microwave meals all the time, it was easy. Now my boyfriend wants to cook properly and every home-cooked meal seems to be twice the calories of its microwave equivalent!
    - Yeah ran into this last night. I do all the cooking. My wife wants something tasty so I am measuring stuff very carefully bearing in mind it still has to taste good and keep ME under my calorie goal. No more free pouring ingredients means I have to get creative with the seasonings. Hey we still enjoyed yummy crab ravioli.
  • Timorous_Beastie
    Timorous_Beastie Posts: 595 Member
    Chicken breast is usually pretty cheap if you buy the bigger (5# and larger) packages. I usually pay $1.99/pound for boneless/skinless. I can make a meal with chicken, frozen veggies, rice or pasta and some kind of sauce or marinade cheaper than a decent frozen pizza.

    Check the circulars at different stores and stock up on what's on sale. A lot of times, at least one of the three shops I go to regularly have BOGO sales on basics like bread or english muffins, sometimes buy one get two free. Freeze what you won't use immediately. Buy store brand instead of name brand. One of the local shops has store made frozen chicken nuggets for $.99 - $1.59 a pound. I get a five pound bag for less than a one pound bag of Perdue. (The buffalo nuggets are so good on a salad!) Check for the "day old" bargain bin produce and bakery items.
  • af_wife2004
    af_wife2004 Posts: 149 Member
    I make a LOT of crockpot meals. One of my favorite sites for meal ideas is http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ I make all my own beans and lentils. A can of black beans is $.95. A 1lb bag is $1.15 and I can get 5-6 cans worth of beans from one bag. I cook them and freeze them in cottage cheese containers. I do this for black beans, pintos, chickpeas, and lentils. I do a lot of price-matching with my local ads at Wal-mart. I can often get bananas for 33 cents a lb and grapes for 99-1.68 per lb. Frozen veggies are usually about 90 cents a bag. I shop meat sales too but if you have a deep freezer another option would be going to Sam's Club or Costco (if you don't have a membership perhaps a friend would take you there. Here we can get chicken breasts and pork loing for $1.89/lb ).
  • LuckyMunky
    LuckyMunky Posts: 200 Member
    A cheap pizza on sale is about $5 where I live. For that amount I can buy a few cups of split peas, an onion, head of garlic, a couple of carrots and some potatoes. Throw all those ingredients into a slow cooker with whatever spices you currently have OR cook on low in a regular pot and you've got a delicious split pea soup.

    Try searching for budget friendly meals. Pinterest is a good place to find cheap and healthy ideas. It's not impossible to eat healthy on a small budget (I've been there many times in my life!) It just takes practice and some home prep, which you can do in whatever limited free time you have. I know, I have 2 kids too but we still manage. You have to put the work into searching for the recipes and making the food. There are very few "quick" and effortless meals that are cheap AND healthy.